Card panel and transfer fixture



- INVENTOR Donald A.Gunn

AfT2R%EY f 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 D A GUNN CARD PANEL AND TRANSFER FIXTUREApril 21, 1953 Flled Nov 28, 1949 P 1953 D. A. GUNN 2,635,607

CARD PANEL AND TRANSFER FIXTURE Filed NOV. 28, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 f49 ea l W 7/ I #7) 37 77,.-

. I r Z4 45 43 4- III/IIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!IIIIIIIIIIIb u- I WVII //l I ll J V LLA April 21, 1953 D. A. GUNN 2,635,607

CARD PANEL AND TRANSFER FIXTURE Filed Nov. 28, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [I1/] II III I II/ INVENTOR April 21, 19 53 D. A. GUNN CARD PANEL ANDTRANSFER 'F-IXTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' Filed NOV. 28, 1949 INVENTORPatented Apr. 21, 1953 CARD PANEL AND TRANSFER FIXTURE Donald A. Gunn,Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to Remington Band 1110., New York, N. Y., acorporation'oi' Delaware Application November 28, 1949, Serial No.129,826

Claims. 1

The present invention relates to mounting means for a type of card whichhas been in use for many years in connection with indexing systems, andwhich has fixing tongues cut out from the card to be distortedrearwardly for engagement behind laterally directed marginal flangeportions of a runway. The cards are thus slidably located on runways andare capable of arrangement in nested overlapping formation leaving astrip of each card exposed beyond the free end of an adjacent card,which exposed strip portion thus serves conveniently for the receptionoi written matter.. The cards, being slidably engaged upon the runways,are separable longitudinally of the runways so that new cards may beengaged on the runways between any two previously adjacent cards forbuilding up an index or written matter in a manner which makes itpossible to maintain a predetermined order, for example, alphabetical ornumerical order, or continuity in written matter.

Examples of the cards, the mounting means and the operating techniqueare described, for example, in the prior United States patents numbered1,048,056; 1,048,058; 1,628,124; 1,675,331; 1,820,889; 1,845,843;1,903,206; 1,925,343; and 2,081,841.

A similar arrangement is being currently used for photographic printingprocesses, in which event the exposed edge of each card. is intended tobear a single line or several lines of written matter so that the cardscan be engaged upon cessive lines of written matter visible on theexposed edges. The written matter is thus built up on the runways, whichare mounted permanently o-r removably on panels, and the panel of cardsis then photographed. It is thus possible to produce photographically orby photolithographic means, a result which bears a reasonableresemblance to printed matter from cards on which the written matter isapplied by a typewriter, especially where print-faced type and variablespacing is used. The system lends itself especially well to thecompilation of parts manuals, schedules, telephone indexes etc., someitems ,of which are varied from time to time, for in that way, themajority of the work can be preserved and the rectification restrictedto the var-. ied items. The system is described in the co-. pendingapplication of Charles M. Ehnes, S. N. 81,124 filed March 12, 1949.

In operation of the process, cards are built up in the requiredoverlapping relationship to fill the runways. to a predetermined extentand whether used, for example, merely for building up an index, "or forthe compilation of, matter to be photographed, it will be appreciatedthat the insertion of new cards between others in an intermediateposition on a runway will result in the displacement of some of thelower cardsalready on the runway, if overfilling of a runway or panelbeyond the predetermined extent is, to be avoided. Thus, where a, seriesof ,panelsare utilized to contain matter in some predeterminedrelationship it is necessary, when new cards are inserted, to engage onthe next runway of the series the cards displaced from a precedingrun-,-

way. v

The invention provides card mountingrunways for mounting cards of theclass described, and means for locating said runways in closely disposedend'to end aligned'relationship for direct sliding transfer of cardsfrom one runway to another,

The cards employed are quite thin and are essentially somewhat flexible,and the clearance between the rearwardly deflected lugs and the back ofa card when it is engaged on .a runway, is small. Consequently, if thclearance between the adjacent ends of aligned runways isexcessive,satisfactory direct transfer of the cards across the gap may not be easyto achieve, and that is especially so if the die-cuts forming the cardfixing lugs are small. I To avoid having to rely on precisionmanufacture 'of the runways, it may be preferable in many cases toprovide, at ornear' the ends of the runways, means whereby the clearancebetween the back of a card and its attachmentlugs is increased as thecard is-moved across the point of transferfrom one runway to another.,By such means the presence 'of an appreciable gap at the point oftransfer can be tolerated, as will later be understood. H 7 h Theinvention'will now be described with ref-5 erence to the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawin'gs, in which; j

Fig. l is a plan view of a transfer fixture according to a preferredform of the invention with panels setup thereon'with fixed runways inalignment for transfer of cardsv from one panel to another, thenestedcards, as they are seen in the built,.up .form, being indicated in dotand dash lines, a I 1 Fig. 2 isanend view corresponding to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section onthe line Iii-III of Fig. 2.. I v IFig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view serving to illustratedetails of the means for holding the inner ends of the panels flatagainst the face of the transfer fixture.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation illustrating the manner inwhich a card and its tongues are automatically distorted to facilitatetransfer across. thegap between one runway and another.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary plan viewsubstantially correspondingto Figs. 6 and 7 but in Fig. 8 the right-hand half of the'card has beenshown broken away and indicatedin dot and.

edges of adjacent panels, whereby the runways can be aligned for cardtransfer without neces-= sarily involving the employment of a transferfixture.

.. Fig. I0 isa section on the line X- XiOf' Fig. 9'.

Fig.' 11 is a, planview illustrating. a modified arrangement in whichdetachable-runways can be engaged in aligned end to end relationship.for card transfer from one runway to the other.

N Fig. 12 is an end view corresponding to Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan view' showing, mainly in dotted lines,.the latch mechanism of Fig. 11.

Fig. 14 isa fragmentary plan view illustrating means on the. adjacentends'of two cooperating detachable runways. whereby they may bedirectlyinter'engaged in. closely disposed end. to. end aligned relationship.

Fig. .15 isa cross-section. on the: line XVXV oilfiig.- 14.. 16 isagaina fragmentary planv-iew illustrating alternative means for.directly engaging two detachable runways" in closely disposed end to endrelationship.

Fig. 17 is a section on the. line XVII-XVII of Fig. 1.61.

Referring. now to. the construction. shown. with reference.to.1=igs-l toinclusive-of the drawings, the cards. 2 [are slidably engagedontherunways 2'2 and 23' intheir partially overlapping relationship as.described in the aforesaid prior patents and application, the runways 22and. 23 being mountedon the panels 24. The flexible card,

tongues 25 and 26 (see Figs. 6, 7 and 8) are flexed to engage. under theflanges 2'! and 28 of the runways, leaving the surface of the remainderof the card supported. flat on. the upper faces of the flanges, Thecards can extend 'rightacross the panel as indicated. in. dot and dash.lines in Fig. 1, in which; case it maybe preferable to provide two sets.of die cuttongues on each .card for engagement. with the respectiverunways 22 and 23. Also, in that event, it is desirable to. provide sideelevator strips 2 9 near the lateral margins of the panel to assist inmaintaining the cards-perfectly flat. The, cards are engaged on therunwaysv in their nested relationship, and the depth of the exposedstrip is accurately defined by reason. of the fact that, in nestingbelow the card immediately above it, the bottom edge of the lower cardengages the straight horizontal portions 3i!v of the di'e'cut's (se Fig.8). Thus, if the cards are all of equal depth, the exposed strips willallbe equal, but if't'he exposed strip is required to be deeper, forexample, where a multiple line item, a heading or an illustration is to'be included with the written matter, an appropriately deeper strip isemployed. The exposed strips are each intended ,lected one of. thetransverse slots 33.

4 to receive the written matter which can be applied with an ordinarytypewriter.

A completed block of nested cards can be compacted and securely locatedby top and bottom card stops respectively indicated at 3| and 3| inFig. 1. It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the cen ter section of eachrunway between the flanges 2 and 28 includes a flat portion 32 spacedfrom the face of the card panel and transverse slots 33 are providedtherein. From Fig. 3, taken in conjunction with Figs. 1 and 2, it willbe noted that the top card stop 34 comprises a transverse cross member34' providing an inverted U-shape card support member from which thereextends downwardly a stem portion 35 jcggled near its end to-produce anoffset portion 35 to engage any se- Intermediate the cross member 34 andthe offset end portion 36atongue is pressed out from the stem 35 toproject perpendicularly through a selected slot 33 and. thus. provide. adistance piece 31 which not only cooperates with the offset end portionforsecure location of. the'endstop as a. whole, but also, by engagementwith the face of the card panel, serves as an'elevato'r for the endcard. .In that way,v by elevating the top card, the endstop 3|compensates for lack. of ,card build up below the edge of. the top cardand. serves to maintain all. the. exposed strips in substantially thesame plane. The bottom. card stops 3|. (Fig. 1).. are inverted withrespect to the top card stops, but operate in th same way.

The. runways. may be spotwelded and/or riveted toth'e card. panels. so.astov be permanently secured. thereto, or insome cases, as will later beunderstood. with reference. to. the. constructions showninFigs. 11 to1.7 inclusivathe runways can be detachably engaged. on. the panels.

The panelswith the cards built upon them can serve-as index. panels and.can be photographed for producing printedcopies, for example, by anyconvenient. photolithographic process. So far the description deals witha technique known in the art but in the utilization of the already knownmeans for the compilation of, for example, parts manuals, telephonedirectories and other publications in which the record presented. bythe. cards is apt to require changing from time to time, it will beappreciated that the insertion of extracardsin any assembled block of.cards will-necessitate a corresponding number of. cardsibeing removedvfrom the bottom of one panel, otherwise, the intended capacity of thepanel. may be. exceeded. Furthermore, if the proper sequencev of. acollective, set'of panels is to be preserved the cards. removed from thebottom of one panel. have to be transferred to the top of the next panelof the sequence. Hitherto-when such changes were made, the cardsv weretaken off one panel and then individually engagedon another, which wasnot only a tedious operation requiring to be done with great care ifinaccuracies were to be avoided, but, what was perhaps more important,constant handling and manipulation of the cards tended to distort ormutilate themso that, when photographically reproduced, the finalresultwas not as satisfactory as it should have been.

To facilitate the transfer of cards from. one panel to another there isprovided, according to the present invention, a transfer fixture whichis indicated generally in Figs. 1 and 2, by the reference numeral 38.The transfer fixture includes. the flat panel portion 39 and side walls40 at the base of which rubber support members 4| are provided at spacedintervals. The device can thus be used on a desk or table withoutscratching the surface Transverse strengthening members, of which one isseen at 42 in Fig. 2, may be spotwelded or otherwise secured to theunderside of the panel 39 to increase its rigidity and maintain itsflatness. The transfer panel is adapted to receive two card mountingpanels in end to end relationship, the top edge of one panel abuttingthe lower edge of the other. For accurate location of the panels thecenter studs 43 and alignment pegs 44 respectively cooperate with slotformations of the panels 24. Thus each of the studs 43 has an enlargedhead 45 and an intermediate neck portion 46, see Fig. 5, correspondingin depth tothe thickness of the panel 24. The ends of the panels arenotched as indicated at 41 to permit the adjacent edges of the panels toassume a closely spaced relationship when installed, and the enlargedheads 45-operate to hold the inner ends of the panels and runways flatagainst the face of the transfer fixture. For

alignment of the runways the pegs 44 cooperate with the gauge slots 48provided in the top and bottom edges of the panels and the length of thegauge slots 48 determines the spacing of the adjacent panel edges. Sincethe inner ends of the panels are held down by the head portions 45 ofthe center studs 43 and alignment of the runways is achieved by accuratepositioning of the cooperating alignment pegs 44 and gauge slots 48, andalso because the ends of the runways project slightly beyond the ends ofthe panels, transfer of cards from one aligned runway or set of runwaysto the other can be achieved simply by sliding the card or cards bodilywithout necessitating any manipulation of the cards or their lugs otherthan purely direct sliding transfer. a

7 Once installed on the transfer fixture the" indicates a cut awayportion provided 'at each 1 end of the panel'39 to give access to thecard panels 24 so that, having depressed the plunger 56 against thelight pressure of the spring 58 opcrating against thecollar 59 on theplunger, the operator can grip the edge of the panel 24 exposed at thecutaway portion 51 between his flnger and thumb to disengage the slotsfrom the center studs 43, and the panel 24 can then be lifted straightoff?" In the form of the invention seen in Figs. 1, 2

and 3 the runwaysare secured to the panels by rivets indicated by thereference numeral 49, see

particularly Fig. 3, and it will be appreciated that the card panelshave their notches 41 and gauge slots 48, and the panel dimensionsfinished to-a high degree of accuracy; care is also taken in manufactureto achieve correct positioning of the runways on the panels. Likewisethe center studs 43 and the alignment pegs 44 and the lock plunger 56are also accurately positioned.

Provided the requisite degree of accuracy is maintained in productionand assembly and in installation of the card panels on the transferfixture, the runways-can be mated sufficiently closely to get anegligible gap, at the point of transfer between faligned runways. If,however, any attempt be made to ensure that the adjacent ends of therespective runways abut when the card'panels are placed on thetransfer-fixture, there is a possibility that their ends will actuallyengage and distort. However slight that distor-. tion might be, itisliable to introduce an irregularity barring smooth transfer of a cardfrom the runways on one panel to those on the other. Too large a gap isequally objectionable because the card tongues are fairly flexible andtend easily to catch in any appreciable space left between the runwayends.

To avoid the necessity for high precision manu facture it may bepreferred, in many embodiments of the invention, so to dimension therunways lengthwise that, when the card panels are mounted on thetransfer fixture, a gap is left between the ends of the aligned runways,and to avoid the cards or their fixing tongues getting caught in the gapas in transfer they pass across it, blister formations 60 and 61, seeparticularly Figs. 3, 6, 'l and 8, are preferably provided near the endsof the runway flanges 21 and 28. It will be noted that of the twoblister formations at each end of each flange, one projects upwardly andthe other downwardly, as is clearly shown with reference to Figs. 6 and'7. By such means it is ensured that as a card is transferred from oneset of runways to the other across the gap between their ends, thetongues are deflected downwardly, whereas the surrounding die out partsof the cards are deflected upwardly. The blister formations are soplaced that the increased separation as between the rear face of thecard and the upper face of its die cut tongues is substantiallypreserved throughout the passage of the tongues across the gap, andthere is thus'n o danger of any part of the tongues 25 or thesurrounding die cuts of the cards fouling the ends of the runways.Similarly, in order to prevent the ends of the cards fouling the gap intransfer be tween the aligned side elevator strips, the ends of theelevator strips are'bent downwardly as indicated at 62 in Figs. 1, 2 and4. I

It will be noted that in Fig. l, the left-hand card panel 24, has bottomcard stops 3! and no top card stops whereas the right-hand card panelhas top card stops 3| and no bottom card stops. When the panels havebeen built up,-however, each block of cards on its respective panel iscompacted endwise and securely located byjboth top and bottom stops. Itis only when the card panels 24 are applied to the transfer fixture'thatthe appropriate card stops are removed to enable the cards to betransferred'from one set of runways to the other, and when transfer hasbeen completed the removed card stops are replaced.

The card panels'are identical and it is essential that that should be sobecause that which at one time may, as viewed in Fig. 1, be at theright-hand position on the transfer fixture, may at some other time beat the left-hand position and vice versa. It should also be stated thatthe lines of printed matter on the exposed strips'of the cards extendacross the panels from side to side thereof, and normally an operatorusing the transfer fixture works from the bottom end with the longerdimension of the fixture extending awayfrom' him. From the point of viewof illus tration, however, it has been expedientto-show the fixture sideuppermost in Fig. 1, but it should be understood that what in Fig. 1 isthe left.- hand panel can be regarded as the bottom .panel and theright-hand. one is normally the upper can beconnected directly to thetop edge of any other panel so that transfer of. cards; from the runwaysof one panel to those of. the other can be. .eifected withoutnecessarily employing a" tra-n'sferfixture. To that end each; panel isprovided. for example,. at its lower edge-with a slotted plate member63., the slot 64 of which is engaged, by cooperating rojection 65 of aplate member 68 attached to the upper edge of each panel. The panels areformed identically and the blister formations on the runways are,preferably maintained. The interconnected card panels can be placed uponany available flat surface for card transfer operations. If the panelsare sufficiently rigid the slots. 64 and cooperating projections 65 canbe.- provided within the thickness of the panels and the added plateformations 63 and. 66 may be omitted.

-; In" the modification illustrated with reference to. Figs. 11,12 and13, there is shown a further. alternative arrangement which lends itselfparticularly well to equ pment in whichthe cards are-mounted ona single.runway. In this form the. runways" 61 can be detachably mounted onpanels or other carriers and thus can *be detached from their panels andmounted in the required endwise aligned relationship directly on thetransfer fixture 68. The center studs 69 have enlarged heads spacedfrom. the surface of the. panel face 18 of the transfer fixture andoperate in conjunction with the trapezoidal shapednotches H of therunways 6'! to hold the ends of the runways down against the face ofthefixture. The studs 69 thus operate in the same mar 1ner as the studs43 seen in Figs. 1, 5iand 5 and to assist in alignment of the runwaysthe pegs l3 cooperate. with the keyhole slots 14 of the. runways whichare normally provided for detachably securing the runways to theirrespective. card. mounting panels for normal use.

Sliding latches 15 are provided oneat each end of the transfer fixture.The latches are guided in their sliding movement by the elongated guideslots 16 and it will be noted that the nose portion ofeach latch isundercut so that when in the latching position, as. seen in Fig. 11, thelatch operates not only to hold the notches, H engaged below. the headsof the studs 69 but also to hold the. outer ends of the runways flushagainst the face. of the transfer fixture.

Details of the. lever-actuated latch mechanism are. best seen with.reference to Fig. 13 read in conjunction with. Fig. 12. Thus it. will beseen that, the. latch mechanism is supported on. the plate 1! secured.to. the underside of. thepanel 10.. The latchv actuating lever 18 isriveted to the plate 11 by the rivet 1.9. A rivet 80. connects the innerend of the latch. actuating lever l8 to a link 8| from which. the latch15 projects through the guide slot 16. being connected to the link bythe rivet 82. The rivets i9, 80 and 82, though secure, permit fairlyfree relative movement of the lever (8, link 8| and latch 15.. As shownin Fig. 13 thelateh 75 is in the disengaged position; and for engagementover the end of a runway the lever 18 is swung clockwise about the rivetT9; the link 8| thus swings. bodily inwardly movingthe latch 15correspondingly inwardly along its guide, slot 16 into the engaged.position as seen inLFig'. 11.

' The free end of the latch. actuating'lever 8 at all times projectsbeyond the end of. the panel link CIOCkWiSBTfibOHt its rivet 'connectionkfl. with.

the latch actuating lever in the Fig. 13 position;

whereby to ensure that in the unlatched position of the lever 18: thelatch 15. will remain at the outer limit of its travel as determined bythe guide slot. 16,. thus leaving. clearance between the latch and thecooperating edge of the end of the runway adequate to ensure easyinstallation of the runway.

It is to be understood that the type of latch shown in the Figs. 11 to13 construction. can if. desired be used in place of the plunger type oflatch seen. in Figs. 1 and 2 and vice versa. ,In any event the leveractuated type of latch with its undercut nose portion may in many caseshe preferable since it operates to hold the outer end of the panel orrunway. as the case may be, fiat against the face of the transferfixture.

Similarly though in the Fig. 11 two trapezoidal notches l are shown atthe ends of the runways, the number of notches employed may be varied,thus with narrower; runways a single notch. may be provided, and ingeneral more than two.

notches would be. provided at each end in the case of wider runways. Thenotches are also useful in that they can cooperate with dimple.formations of the card mounting panels to facilitate location of therunways in their normal use. I

A modified form shown with reference to- Figs. 14 and 15 deals with afurther embodiment of the invention whereby, instead of applying theindividual runways to a transfer fixture, as; described with. referenceto the construction shown in the Figs. 11, 12 and 13,. the runwaysthemselves can be engaged in their end to end aligned relationship forcard transfer operations. To: that end the bottom end of. the runway 84is provided with a, tongue 85. having a reduced end portion 86 forengagement with the slot 8.! formedin the recessed center portion. 88 ofthe cooperati-ng runway 89. It will benoted that the tongue lies whollywithin the recessed center portion 88 of. the runway 89 being bentoutwardly to lie on. the face of said recessed portion and being bentbackwardly again as indicated at 90, Fig. 15,, to provide secure meansof engagement with the slot. 81'. It will be appreciated that therunways 84 and 8%! are identical each having. the tongue 85 at its.lower end and the slot 87: near its upper end, which. slot convenientlymay also serve: for engaging; a top. card stop correspond-- ing to. thatindicated. by the reference numeral 30 in Fig; 1.: Obviously it is. not:necessarily of material importance: forthetongue 8.5 to heme-- vided atthe bottom of each runway for'it. may in. fact be. provided at. the topof each runway, in which. case the cooperating slot 81 would then be.provided near the bottom of each runway, the important point being the.maintenance of identity .as betweenv thev individual runways so as toensure that the top. of each runway can be connected to the bottom ofany other runway.

Figs. 16. and 17 show a further alternative means for connecting twoidentical runways to gether in the required end to end relationship ofalignment. In this case the runway ends are identical each being formedwith a hole 9| for engagement with spaced studs 92 on a. bridge piece93. The bridge piece preferably engages the back of the runway with thestuds project'- ing into the recessed center portion.

It is important to note that in the case of the construction shown in-Figs. 14 and 15., and that shown. in Figs. '16 andtl'l, that the tongue85 and .9 1th'e-studs92, respectively, engage the recessed centerportion of the runways between the lat- :erally. directed side fianges,for in that way the side'fianges are left unobstructed and .the.connecting means. thus cannot interfere with .easy transfer of the cardsfromone runway to the other..... p

It will be noted that in Fig 1, the-runways 22 and 23 are. shownprovided with..keyhole slots corresponding; to thoseindicated bythe.refer; ence numeral in Fig. 11, but "in.Fig..1 they serve no usefulpurpose as inthatcase therunways .are riveted, spotwelded orotherwise.secured to thecard panels... There maybe cases, however, in which therunways ,22 and -23 are required to be removably mounted on the cardpanels, andfor thattreason the runwaykeyhole slots areavailable. but, inanyevent, it is co'nvenient to form all the runways identicalso thatwithout modification they can be. adapted for use ieither in theremovable or. the. fixed manner.

Although in Fig.1, twostandard width run- .waysare employed on:eachpanel,-it is possible to .use a single runway of width corresponding tothe overall width of the two spaced standard runways. In the case ofverywide panelslintermediate elevators may be provided between run-.ways and the side elevators 29, and. in the case of narrow panels orfixtures, for example, "as described with reference to Fig. 11 sideelevators may be omitted altogether.

It-will be appreciated that in general where the runways aredirectlyjoined in their end to end aligned relationship as shown in Figs. 14 to17, there should normally be no difficulty in getting uninterruptedtransfer of cards from one runway to the other;andthe dimple formationsthough perhaps still preferable may befomitted. Itj'is'also tobeunderstood that practically 'any deformation of the ends of the runwayflanges which will operate to increase locally the clearance between theback of the" cards and their attachment lugs across the pointof transferfrom one runway to the other, may be substituted for the dimpleformations.

In some cases transfer panels may be designed to accommodate three ormore panels or runways in the aligned relationship.

The invention claimed is:

1. In combination, index panels having runway means extending from topto bottom of said panels for slidably carrying cards of the classdescribed on said runway means, a transfer fixture having a fiat upperface, stud means intermediate the ends of said fixture upstanding fromsaid face said stud means each comprising a shank portion terminating inan enlarged head spaced from said face and overhanging said shankportion, peg means upstanding from said face and spaced from said studmeans, notch means provided in said panels for registering cooperationunder the heads of said stud means to hold adjacent ends of panelsengaged on said fixture fiat against said face with the ends of saidrunway means thus disposed in the same plane and in close end to endrelationship, slot means provided in said panels for registeringcooperating with said peg means and positioned to align the runway meansof one panel with the runway means of an adjacent installed panel, andlatch means on said fixture cooperative with the outer ends of saidpanels for locating said panels against endwise separation.

2. In combination, a plurality of runways for slidably mounting cards ofthe class de- 10 scribed, a'transfer fixture having a flat upper face,stud means intermediate. the ends of said fixture upstanding from saidface each.comprisinga shank portionterminating in anJen- .larged headspacedfrom-saidface and overhanging saidshank portion, peg meansupstanding from said face and spaced from said studs means, notch meansatthe endsof said runways for registering cooperation with said shankportions underv the head portions .of said stud means to hold adjacentendsv of in'stalledrunways .fiat against .said face; with their ends.disposed in thesame plane and in closely, disposed end to end.relationship, and, slot means in said runwayspfor registeringcooperation with said peg. means and. positioned to align adjacentinstalled runways, and, latch means on said fixture cooperative with theends of said runways remote from said stud means for locating saidrunways against endwise. separation from said stud means.

3. Means as setforth in claim 2 having said latch means ,each formedwith an undercut op.- erative face cooperative with the runways engagedthereby tohold said runways against the face. ofsaid' fixture. 4. Cardtransfer means comprising a, plurality of panels each mounting a cardmounting runway defining marginal edges directedlaterally -and--.meanson said marginal portions of :each

runway adjacent the closely disposed end portions to deflect downwardlythe tabs. engaged under, said marginaledges and upwardly .tab adjacentportions of. said;1card engaging over said marginal edges, whereby toprevent said deflected portions engaging the ends of the aligned runwaysas a card is slidably transferred from one to another of said runways.

5. Card transfer means as set forth in claim 4 wherein, the means forengaging said panels on said fixture comprise pin and slot connectingmeans cooperative between said panel and fixture, and releasable latchmeans operative to secure said panels with the cooperating runways inthe desired closely disposed aligned end to end relationship.

6. Card transfer means comprising a plurality of panels each mounting acard mounting runway having a central portion connected to the face ofsaid panel and marginal portions one at each side of said centralportion spaced from the surface of said panel for engagement between theback of a card and rearwardly distorted inwardly directed lug meanspressed out from said cards, a card transfer fixture, cooperating meanson said fixture and said panel for demountably engaging said panel onsaid fixture with the respective runways accurately positioned inclosely disposed end to end aligned relationship, and means on saidmarginal portions of each runway adjacent the closely disposed endportions to deflect downwardly the lug means engaged under said marginaledges and upwardly tab adjacent portions of said card engaging over saidmarginal portions, whereby to prevent said deflected portions engagingthe ends of the aligned runways asa card is slid'ably transferred fromone to another of said runways.

7. Card transfer means comprising a plurality of panels each mounting atleast one card mounting runway defining marginal edges directedlaterally outwardly in spaced relationship with respect to the surfaceof said panel for engagement between the back of a card and rearwardlydistorted inwardly directed lugs pressed back from-said card wherebysaid card is engaged slidably on said runway, a card trans- .ferfixture, cooperating means on said fixture and said panel fordemountably engaging said panel on said fixture with the respectiverunways accurately positioned in closely disposed end to end alignedrelationship, and dimple means distorting the surface of said marginaledges both upwardly and downwardly adjacent the closely disposed ends ofsaid runways whereby clearance between the back of a card with respectto its lugs is increased to prevent the runway edge embracing portionsof a card engaging the mating ends of aligned runways, thereby tofacilitate uninterrupted sliding transfer of a card from one runway tothe other aligned with it.

8. In a card mounting runway having a base portion adapted forattachment to a panel and marginal edges directed laterally outwards ina panel above that of said base portion for engagement between the backsof cards and card attachment lugs pressed back from said cards forlocating said cards slidably on said runways with the cards supportedthereon with said lugs engaging under said edges; the provision of meanslocally increasing the effective thickness of said edges at points neareach end thereof, whereby the normal edge embracing clearance betweenthe back of a card and its lugs is increased as a card is slidden offthe end of the runway, thereby to facilitate transfer of a card from onerunway to another Where two run- 12 ways are located in closely disposedend to and aligned relationship.

9. A card mounting runway as set forth in claim 8, in which the localthickening of the edges is achieved by the provision of protuberances,one directed laterally upwardly and another directed downwardly, atpoints near each end of each edge.

10. In a card mounting runway having a base portion and marginal edgesdirected laterally outwards in a plane above that of said base portionfor engagement between the backs of cards and card attachment lugspressed back from said cards for locating said cards sli'dably on saidrunways with the cards supported there.- on with said lugs engagingunder said edges; the provision of means locally increasing theeffective thickness of said edges at points near each end thereoflandattaching means engaging the base portions of a pair of said runways andretaining said runways in aligned end to end relation whereby the normaledge embraced clearance between the back of a card and, its lugs isincreased as a card is slid off the end of a runway, thereby tofacilitate transfer of a card from one runway to another where a pair ofsaid runways are held by said attaching means in closely'disposed andsaid aligned end to end relationship.

DONALD A. GUNN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number7 Name Date 1,574,931 Powell Mar. 2, 19.26 1,589,556 Rand June 22, 19261,661,519 Wigginton Mar. 6, 1928 1,697,349 Day et al. Jan. 1, 19291,963,806 Rand June 19, 1934 2,081,841 Shailor May 25, 1937 2,124,904Brainard July 26, 1938 2,254,728 Bruen Sept. 2, 1941

